Vitex, Chaste-tree
Vitex agnus-castus
Verbenaceae (Verbenaceae)
▲ mature plant
▲▼ flowers
▲ leaves
Location on campus: at northwest corner of Craig Hall, across from southeast entrance of Karls Hall
Vitex agnus-castus: Vitex, Chaste-tree
· leaves deciduous, opposite, palmately compound with entire-margined leaflets; leaflets are 2-4" long and 1/4 as wide; gray-green in color, glabrous above, slightly pubescent underneath
· stems are slender, gray-green to gray-brown, angled with large, angled pith; older stems/trunks get blocky bark
· flowers are lilac-purple in terminal panicles in late summer on current season’s growth
· grows 15-25' tall and 2/3 as wide in southern areas as a small tree; more of a shrub in north and may die back to ground in cold winters
· prefers full sun, moist, well-drained soil
· fast growth rate
· relatives of this plant produce chemicals that repel insects and act as insect growth regulators
· a related species Vitex negundo: Chaste-tree
o leaves similar to above, but with serrate margins on leaflets
o more herbaceous-appearing stem growth than V. agnus-castus
o flowers, height, growth habit and rate similar